Monthly Archives: March 2017

Come along to our Wellbeing Festival on Friday 7 April from 11-15.00 in the Student Hub to discover a variety of fun and practical ways to improve your wellbeing

We have an exciting line up of internal departments and external organisations coming to take part in the day, such as mental health and charity stands, Drill Hall library wellbeing, GK Union, mindful colouring, Medway Activities, Medway Park leisure centre and healthy snacks.

Highlights include:

FREE treatments for students and staff from PURE beauty salon, including Indian head massage and mini manicures

Have a go at stress putty making with Creatabot

School of Sport and Exercise Science breathing health assessments

FREE healthy snacks

Workshop
Mindfulness Session from 12 -13.00 for students and staff in the Mezzanine, Student Hub (please email medwaywellbeing@kent.ac.uk to register interest).

School of Music and Fine Art students celebrate the unseen, the past and future through items usually hidden from public view at the Guildhall Museum, Rochester.

The 2nd year BA (Hons) Fine Art students’ vivid practices include textile work, community collaboration, painting, print, sculpture, wall paper design, installation, soundscape and interactive pieces. This exciting exhibition uncovers truth and tells new stories. New life has been given to archived objects; they are Lost in Storage no more.

Congratulations to SMFA lecturers Paul Gambrill and Peter Hatton for receiving their Above and Beyond Awards! The Kent Union Awards recognise any member of staff throughout the academic year who has gone above and beyond what is expected of them. The nominations are from students, offering the chance to show staff how much they are appreciated and to celebrate their achievements. As soon as a member of staff is nominated, they will be surprised while they’re working (whether that be teaching, in their office etc.) so that everyone around them can see how amazing they are.

For the awards to School of Music and Fine Art staff, Paul Gambrill, Associate Lecturer in Event and Experience Design, was described by nominators as inspiring, motivating and always willing to put in extra time to ensure students achieve their full potential. ‘He has been such an asset to the school for over eight years and we all feel he deserves recognition and something back.’

Peter Hatton, Programmes Director, Event and Experience Design, Event and Experience Management, Fine Art and Deputy Head of School, was praised for being a very kind & understanding teacher, enthusiastic and offering continued assistance to ensure student progress and helping with career opportunities. ‘He has found us so many experiences, paid employment or volunteering work, and is never hesitant with referencing. His guidance has helped me develop my creativity, my knowledge and my practical skills to a great extent throughout my years in Kent, which I am forever grateful for.’

Study Plus courses are FREE to all Kent students and give you a chance to study for pleasure or improve your employability by learning new skills.

If you have summer travel plans, learn some useful phrases before you go, with:
Spanish (KE089), Japanese (KE090) or Arabic (KE091) for travel. You can take a beginner’s course in Business Mandarin (KE007) and if you already speak some Mandarin, you could take Discover Chinese Language and Culture (KE088).

If you’re looking to develop your employment prospects, look no further than:
Employability Skills (KE043), or Careers in the third sector (KE070). Post grad students can also sign up for Who are you? Improving your prospects by knowing your strengths (KE094). Our intensive 5-day course: Journalism (KE044) gives you the chance to experience the pressure and the pleasure of making real journalism to real deadlines under professional leadership.

The very popular Digital Photography course (KE122) is back, allowing you to get to grips with your digital SLR camera and learn to take better photos of people.

Dirty History (KE004) will appeal to Game of Thrones fans and anyone interested in separating medieval fact from fantasy.

Finally, Big Ideas (KE128-KE131) is a series of 4 stand alone workshops offering an introduction to western philosophy.

Most of the courses are on the Canterbury campus, but Journalism is at Medway. You can sign up for a course at Canterbury or Medway and use the free shuttle bus to travel to the course if it is not on your home campus.

You can sign up for a course via Workshops in the Student Data System. Please make sure that you are definitely able to do the course before signing up for it!

Kent Union is a registered charity and therefore subject to the restrictions placed on charities by the law. Kent Union’s charitable objects are the advancement of education of students at the University of Kent for the public benefit by:

1) Promoting the interests and welfare of students at the University of Kent during their course of study and representing, supporting and advising students;

2) Being the recognised representative channel between students and the University of Kent and any other external bodies; and

3) Providing social, cultural, sporting and recreational activities and forums for discussions and debate for the personal development of its students.

Drama and Theatre students curate the latest exhibition in the Templeman Library, which runs from 5 April to 12 May. All are welcome to the launch event at 16:30 on Wednesday 5 April, in the Gallery on Floor 1, Templeman West, to learn more about how the students selected and curated the material on display.

“Sex, Death and Panto” is the result of a regular second-year Drama and Theatre module on Victorian and Edwardian theatre, taught in collaboration with Kent’s Special Collections & Archives. It emphasises the use of archives in researching 19th– and early 20th-century theatre.

This year, the students chose to focus on how crimes and scandals affected the theatre of the time, and on the renowned pantomimes performed at Drury Lane. They used primary sources from the University’s extensive Theatre and Performance Archives.

Adapted for the stage by Stephen Briggs, the University of Kent Players are proud to present Terry Pratchett’s Wyrd Sisters this April.

The University of Kent Players were founded in 2013 by Neil Hornsey and are made up of staff at Kent who love the theatre.

Follow witches Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick in Terry Pratchett’s Wyrd Sisters as they attempt to stop the destruction of their kingdom from the wicked Duke and Duchess. Expect ghosts, spells and a whole lot of fun as Pratchett’s reworking of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is brought to life.

There are Study hubs across campus. You can use most of them no matter where you live. Study hubs are spaces to work in a quiet, relaxed setting, whether you’re using a PC, at a table or sofa, on your own or in a group. All of them have PCs and Print Copy Scan machines, and some are open 24/7.

In the Templeman Library, check the screens to see where in the Library there are free PCs. From start of next term there will be some additional revision spaces too.

E-resources wherever you goYou can use Library resources, like e-books, journals, news and statistics, wherever you are, at any time. You don’t have to be in the Library or even on campus – just log in with your Kent IT Account.

Need to relax with some reading?
Have a look at our Wellbeing and Self Help reading list. All the books on it are available online or as books you can borrow from in the Templeman Library, or both.

Topics include:

Study and exam skills

Motivation

Mindfulness

Healthy eating

Coping with stress and anxiety

Try the new Templeman Library Chill Out Zone!Relax in a calm pop-up space in the Library – open just for exam season. Take some time out from your revision, flop on a beanbag or comfy chair, enjoy the views, do some colouring or just chill. No studying allowed!

You can find the Chill Out Zone on Floor 3, Templeman East. Take the stairs or lift to the top of the Library and turn left, it’s the room in the corner. The space is open from 09:00-21:00 Monday to Friday and you’ll need your KentOne card to enter.

Last month’s update on Staff Connect explained a substantial milestone towards the delivery of the project had taken place and that we were on track to launch at the end of March. Unfortunately, an issue with slow system performance was not able to be resolved by the supplier, and therefore we are now tracking to an April launch.

A number of other issues, both with the software and the reconciliation process between the legacy and new system were successfully resolved. However, despite a great effort by everyone involved, especially the business, it was felt that the issue of slow performance of the new system was too great to go live with. IS are working with the supplier to determine the root cause and confidence is high that we will be able to launch in April.

While the core system will launch in April, it has been decided that the self-service aspect, your own Staff Connect account will not launch until sometime in May. You will therefore still receive a paper payslip for salary paid in April. Your first online payslip will be available in May. It is disappointing to all concerned that we have not been able to go live, but I’m sure you’ll appreciate the importance of ensuring the new system is secure, robust and fully operational before it is launched. We will update you again in April with the progress of the project.

Meanwhile, if you would like to refresh your knowledge of Staff Connect, have a look at the project support site where you will find tutorials, guidance, FAQs and an online walk through of Staff Connect.